


Mean Times

by vshendria



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-07
Updated: 2013-07-07
Packaged: 2017-12-17 23:08:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/873008
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vshendria/pseuds/vshendria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Will knows he is sinking</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mean Times

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Writerverse Challenge #16: Weekly Quick Fic #5

At first, Will is sustained by his outrage and his determination, but as the days pass and Will’s existence narrows to meals and therapy and the endless in between, active emotions drain away leaving a gaping hole in the centre of him. He dreams murders and accusations and then is taken in chains to Chilton’s office, where the man – more or less recovered from his dissection at Abel Gideon’s scalpel – becomes more desperate and more cruel with each session.

“I cannot help you, Will, unless you are willing to be truthful with me… and with yourself.” 

“You don’t want to help me.”

Somehow, every normal gesture becomes caricature on Chilton’s face. A mere raising of an eyebrow is a smug celebration. An attempt at a smile is a self-satisfied smirk. “Do I not?”

“You want me to make you famous. You think you can crack me open.”

Chilton steeples his fingers. He does that a lot, trying to seem pensive. “Interesting that you would put it that way.”

Will decides at that moment that he will not speak to Chilton any more. To participate in the discussion costs more energy than he can afford, and is unnecessarily generous. Chilton is impervious to the concept.

There are more days and Will knows that he is sinking. It’s happened to him before. When he was fourteen, he had fallen into a pit something like this. He remembers realizing he was in trouble but, oddly, he can’t remember quite how being in trouble felt. He knows it hurt but he can’t remember hurting. He remembers putting a fish hook through his thumb and staring at it protruding, wondering that there was no pain at all. There is a memory of being in his bed. His dad had been reaching out with one of those filthy handkerchiefs he used to carry around, wiping tears off his face. He had smacked the hand away. 

He knows that eventually he was wheeled into surgery for electro-convulsive therapy but he has no memory of that. Contrary to Hollywood and general opinion, ECT can be beneficial for people are gone past other kinds of help. It is done under general anesthetic and is usually painless.

Will knows that painless is the last thing he wants.


End file.
